Automatic electric brake.



No. 832,462 PATENTBD OCT-Z, 1906.

l A. E. DUWEL IUS AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC BRAKE.

APFLIOATION FILED MAY), 1904'.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No, 832,462. 'PATENTED 0GT. 2, 1906.

A. L'.. DUWELIUS.

AUTOMATIC ELBGT RIG BRAKE. APPLICATION 3mm KAY 7, 1904.

' a sums-SHEET 2.

No. 832,462. PATENTED OCT. 2, 1906/ A." L. DUWELIUS.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC BRAKE.

APPLICATION PILEDMAY "1 1904.

a BHEETS-SHEET a [flu 61075612" V AUGUSTUS L. D UWELIUS, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

. AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1906 Application filed May 7,1904. Serial No. 206,861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS L. DU- WELIUS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, county of Hamilton, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Electric Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others.

skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to electric brakes for vehicles, and has for its object to provide means for electrically retarding and arrestin the movement of the vehicle quickly an Without injury to itor its contents. I

To this end the invention comprises an electromagnetic actuator for operating the vehicle-brakes, which actuator is energized by current from an electrical generator on the vehicle, said generator under normal conditions of operation constituting the vehiclemotor, but in the breaking operation being transformed into a generator by breaking the circuit leading to the power source and concurrently establishing another circuit from the generator through the brake-actuator.

Good en ineering practice has 'fully demonstrated that the usual hand-brake riggin of a vehicle cannot be safely discarded, an

in view of this I have devised means of such a character as to constitute an addition, to such rigging instead of a substitute therefor, the apparatus being so designed as to secure such coaction between the hand braking apparatus, and the electrical -poweractuated mechanism as to insure safety, reliability, durability, and a minimum cost of operation and maintenance.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a plan view of a car equippedwith my invention. Fi 2 is a longitudinal section of my brake-cyinder. Fi 3 is a diagrammatic view of the electrica connections. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of my brakecontroller. Fig. 5 1s a plan view thereof.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the brake-cylinder C, with its forked plungerrod D', is bolted to the car-body and mechanically connected with the usual brakerigging' by brake-rod D. The wires W W serve to connect the cylinder with a brakecontroller K, which latter is illustrated in de tail in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 and will be more particularly described hereinafter. The usual hand-brake staff H and crank I-I, together with the ratchet-Wheel H and its lockingawl H are mounted on the forward "end of the car, and said staff is connected b means of the hand-brake chain H and r0 J with the brake-lever H 111, Fastened to the same lever andextending toward the rear of the car is the rope J passing over a pulley J, secured to the car-frame, which rope is secured to the brake-stafi by a chain J with a stout spring J interposed between the chain and t e rope end. A spring H normally forces pawl H into. engagementwith the ratchetwheel H and serves to hold the brake set until the ratchet-wheel is released by the motorman.

The preferred form of my brake-actuating device is illustrated in detail inFig. 2, and consists of an iron or steel cylinder 0, in which reciprocates a plunger D, provided with a rod D extending through opposite ends of the cylinder, and constituting asupport for the plunger, as well as means for connecting the latter to the brake-lever through the connecting-rod DI The plunger D consists of an iron or steel s 001 provided with a series of circumferentia flanges D throughout its length, between which flanges are Wound coils D of insulated wire in such manner that the direction of Winding in any one space is reversed to that of thespace adjoining it, for the urpose, when electrically energized, of pro ucing magnetic poles of alternately opposite polarity in the plunger. The terminals D D of the plunger-winding are brought out through the hollow connectingrod C, which is an L-shaped pipe or casing secured at one end to the plunger and to a sliding carriage C at its ot or end for the purpose of imparting a movement to said carriage corresponding exactl to that of the plunger. Said carriage is shdably mounted upon two arallel conductor-rods C and C mounted in a lateral extension of the cylinder C and .connected, respectively, to the circuit-terminals C and C; Terminal wire D is connected through carriage C with rod C and terminal wire D is electrically connected with a brush or contact device 0 mounted in said carriage, while a second brush or con tact device 0, mounted upon the opposite side of said carriage, is electrically connected with conductor-rod C Said brushes or contact devices move over'a commutating device consisting of a series of insulated bars C mounted in the cylinder-casing, so. that as the carriage is reciprocated, the sliding contact devices C C engage the upper surfaces of said bars and form electrical contact therewith. The inner surface of the cylinder is provided with a series of ribs C forming a are'connected with those of two other coils in the cylinder, each eight numbers from it inopposite directions. For instance, one terminal of coil No. 9 connects with its opposite of coil No. 1, the other with its opposite of coil No. 17, &c., in regular order until one terminal of coil No. 31 connects with its opposite of coil No. 23 and the other with its opposite of coil No'. 8, thus com leting a closed circuit including all of the coi s. Each junction of the coil-terminals is electrically connectedwith one of said insulated bars C of the commutator device. The practical effect of this arrangement of parts is such, that when supplied with electrical current, the cylinder being stationary, the plunger is drawn into the cylinder and actuates the brake-rigging. It will be understood, of course, that the same result may be produced bymaking the plun er stationary and the cylinder mov ab e an also by constructing the plunger with the multiplicity of grooves and coils shown in the cylinder and employing the plunger construction of flanges and coils in the cylinder. presents the fewest mechanical difficulties and is therefore to be referred. When the power is applied to the brake-actuating cylinder, the course traversed by the current is as follows: passing from the external circuit to binding-post C", through guide-rod C bindingost C on carriage C, through conductor 3 in the hollow connecting-rod C, to

and through the plunger-windings thence,

through conductor D in the connecting-rod C back to binding-post G and sliding contact C", to the particular insulated bar-section C, with which said sliding conductor C isincontact, to the cylinder-coil connectedto said insulated bar, thence through the various cylinder-coils in the manner above s ecified, the last of which is connectedwith t e articular insulated ar-section with whic the sliding contact 0 is engaged by way of said. contact to carriage C", thence to guiderod C and binding-post C to the return-lead of the external circuit. As the plunger is drawn into the cylinder the carriage C is correspondingl advanced along the commutator-sections 8 with the result The form illustrated, however,

I that the current is directed through the cylinder-coil in such manner as to aflord the A AA and the field-coil terminals by FE" F E, thelatterconnectinglwith the roundwire G. Connected with t e field-coi terminals are the shunts S S, preferably composed of carbon lates. Opposite the generatorterminals 1s shown a diagrammatic plan of the contacts K K K of the brake-controller K and beyond these the continuation of the generator or'motor-terminals leading-to the usual car-controller, which, however, is not here shown, as it forms no part of my invention. I A

My invention, as above described, operates as follows: The car beingdriven forward, the driving-current through and from the car-controller'reache' the motors by .way of the brake-controller through the ri ht-hand or car-controller terminals F AA g E F AA A and their brushes bearing on'contacts K connected, as shown, by dotted lines, thence to brushes and left-hand conductors F AA, A, E, F, AA, and A, forming the terminals of the armatures A A and field-coils F F of the motors. car, the drivingscurrent is shut off by the carcontroller. The, brake-controller shaft is then given a partial turn, which breaks the connection between the car-controller and the motors and closes a local circuit, includ ing contacts K and brushes cooperating therewith, armature-terminals AA A AA A reversed, field-coil terminals F E F, brake-terminal B, and brake-cylinder and plunger-windings, ground-wire G, and fieldcoil terminal E The effect of this manipulation is to convert the motors into generators of electrical current and to electrically When it is desired to 'stop the ICC and magnetically energize the cylinder C and v cause plunger D to be drawn within the cylinder, and thereby actuate the brake-rigging to appl the brake-shoes to the car-wheels with a fbrce or pressure commensurate with the speed of the car. To graduate the braking, power applied, shunts S S are connected.

ed on the brake-controller shaft, acting upon the bell-crank lever L and transmitted to the carbon plates. the lever L into forcib e contact with the plates, thereby increasing the pressure and reducing the resistance. When the brakecontrolleris rotated to connectwith the motoreontroller, cam M engages lever L and rocks the same out of contact with the plates, which plates, therefore, interpose a sufficient resist- 1 .chain to drop slack.

ance to practically break the shunt to the field-coil. In order, however, to electrically disconnect the shunts S Sfrom ihe field-terminals when the generators act as motors, switches X X are provided. It is frequently desirable and often necessary to maintain the application of the brakes after the movemen of the car has ceased, and as the generation of current likewise ceases with the movement of the car some means should be provided for locking the brakes after they are set. This object I attain by means of the rope J which in its peculiar relation to the brake-beam and thehand-brake staff operates as a take-up for the slack and a means for actuating the brake-staff and automatically locking the brakes after they have been set by the electrical actuator, It will be seen that the action of the electrical actuator moves all parts a of the brake-rigging in the same direction as that employed in setting the hand-brake. Ordinarily this would cause the hand-brake In order to take up the slack and lock the brakes, as above mentioned, the wire rope J having one of its ends ,fas-

tened to the brake-lever and passing over the pulley J, its other end connected with the spring J which engages the end of the chain J wound on the hand-brake-stafl' in a direction opposite to that of the hand-brake chain, the movement of the plunger in the application of the brake being communicated by the brake-rod to one end of the brake-lever, causes the other end of said lever to move in the direction ,of the hand-brake staff, carrying with it one end of the slack-take-up rope J The pulley J reverses relatively the motion of the other end of the rope J spring J and chain J causing the latter in unwinding to turn the hand-brake staff in the direction employed in winding the hand-brake chain to set the hand-brake. The slack of the handbrake chain being taken up, it is held by the ratchet and pawl actuated by the'foot of the operator or by the pawl-spring H. The degree of slack so held is limited by the tension of the spring J, and as said spring may, if desired, be made sufiiciently powerful to take up any degree of slack it is obvious that the brake will be held by the hand-brake stafi with Whatever degree of pressure said brake may have been set by the electrical actuator. In order to make the electrical braking apparatus applicable when the movement of the car is reversed, I provide on the brake-controller a series of contacts K which prop- A sprin L normally drawserly connect the generator-terminals in order to insure the generation of current in the.

as such is adapted to be applied as a prime mover to any other form of mechanism in which a reciprocating m tion is required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. An electric brake-actuating apparatus for vehicles, comprising an electric translating device for operating the brake-rigging with a force commensurate with the speed of the car, an electric generator driven from the vehicle-axle, a controller for connecting the generator and the translating device, a selflocking hand-operating device for setting the brake, and mechanism for actuating the hand-operating device concurrently with the electric apparatus, whereby. the brake is locked in set relation.

2. An electric brake-actuating apparatus for vehicles, comprising an electric translating device for operating the brake-rigging with a force commensurate with the speed of the car, an. electric generator driven from the vehicle-axle, a controller for connecting the generator and the translating device, a handoperated brake-staff for operating the brakerigging, means for locking said staff, and connection between said staff and said brakerigging whereby the staff is operated and the brake is locked-when the latter is set by the translating device.

'3. An electric brake-actuating apparatus for vehicles, comprising an electric translating device for operating the brake-rigging with a force commensurate with the speed of the car, an electric generator driven from the vehicle-axle, a controller for connecting the generator and the translating device, a handoperated brake-staff for operating the brakerigging, a ratchet and pawl for locking the brake-staff, and connections vbetween said staff and said brake-ri ging whereby the, staff is operated and the brake is locked when the latter is set by the translating device.

4. An electric brake-actuating apparatus for vehicles, comprising an electric translating device for operating the brake-rigging, an electric generator driven from the vehicleaxle, a controller for connecting the generator and the translating device, a hand-operated brake-staff for operating the brake-riggin a ratchet and pawl for locking the bra e-stafl, and a chain and rope connecting the brake-staff and the brake-riggin to operate the stafl and lock the brake w 1611 the latter is set by the translating device.

5. Brakin mechanism for a vehicle, comprising an-e ectric brake-actuator, a hand rake actuator, an automatic lock for the latter, and means connecting the brake-rigof power and connecting the motor as a gen &

an electric translating device for operating, the brake rigging, a controller for'breaking:

the circuit between the motor and the source erator to the translating device, a shunt comprising carbon plates in the generator-circuit, and clamping mechanism operated by said controller to adjust the pressure onsaid I plates and regulate the power ofthe generatric current,- the drawn into the cy inder.

tor applied to thetranslating device.

' 8. An electric translating device for operating brakes and the like, comprising'a cylinder, and a piston or plunger, both of mag netic material, provided with circular grooves containing coils of insulated wire so arran ed and connected that when supplied with e coiston or plunger will be 9. An electric translating device for operating brakes and the like, comprising a cylin der, and a piston or plunger, both of magnetic rriaterial, each provided with aseries of circular grooves, coils of insulated wire arranged in said grooves, terminal bars connected with one series ofcoils, sliding contactsco'operating with said bars and conesaaca 1'0. An electric translating device for operating brakes and the like, comprising a cylinder, and a piston or plunger, both ofmagnected with the other series of coils,'and con- 4o :nectors betweensaidsliding contacts and the :moving part of the translating device to :innve said contacts over the terminal bars.

netic material, each provided-with aseries of circular grooves, coils of insulated-Wire arranged in said grooves, so proportioned that the number of coilsin one part will be one greater or one less than a multiple-of the number of flanges or ribs on the other, terminal bars connected with one series of coils, sliding contacts cooperating with said bars and connected with the other series of coils, and connectors between said slidin contacts and the moving part of the trans atin'g device to move said contacts over the terminal bars.

11. In an electric brake-actuating mech- 'anism for vehicles, a translating device, comprising a cylinder, a piston or plunger, both of magnetic material, rovided with circular grooves containing coi s of insulated Wires so arranged and connected that when supplied with electric current the piston or p unger will be drawninto the cylinder, connections between the translating device and the brakerigging, an electric generator driven from the vehicle-axle, anda controller for connecting the generator and the translating device.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUSTUS L. DU'WELIUS;

Witnesses W. S. LITTLE, -HORAOE ALLEN. 

